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Prometheus Review

By:
Matt Patches
Jun 07, 2012

Widening the thematic scope without sacrificing too much of the claustrophobia that made the original 1979 Alien universally spooky Prometheus takes the trophy for this summer's most adult-oriented blockbuster entertainment. The movie will leave your mouth agape for its entire runtime first with its majestic exploration of an alien planet and conjectures on the origins of the human race second with its gross-out body horror that leaves no spilled gut to the imagination. Thin characters feel more like pawns in Scott's sci-fi prequel but stunning visuals shocking turns and grand questions more than make up for the shallow ensemble. "Epic" comes in many forms. Prometheus sports all of them.
Based on their discovery of a series of cave drawings all sharing a similar painted design Elizabeth (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie (Logan Marshall-Green) are recruited by Weyland to head a mission to another planet one they believe holds the answers to the creation of life on Earth. Along for the journey are Vickers (Charlize Theron) the ruthless Weyland proxy Janek (Idris Elba) a blue collar captain a slew of faceless scientists and David (Michael Fassbender) HAL 9000-esque resident android who awakens the crew of spaceship Prometheus when they arrive to their destination. Immediately upon descent there's a discovery: a giant mound that's anything but natural. The crew immediately prepares to scope out the scene zipping up high-tech spacesuits jumping in futuristic humvees and heading out to the site. What they discover are the awe-inspiring creations of another race. What they bring back to the ship is what they realize may kill their own.
The first half of Prometheus could be easily mistaken for Steven Spielberg's Alien a sense of wonder glowing from every frame not too unlike Close Encounters. Scott takes full advantage of his fictional settings and imbues them with a reality that makes them even more tantalizing. He shoots the vistas of space and the alien planet like National Geographic porn and savors the interior moments on board the Prometheus full of hologram maps sleeping pods and do-it-yourself surgery modules with the same attention. Prometheus is beautiful shot in immersive 3D that never dampers Dariusz Wolski's sharp photography. Scott's direction seems less interested in the run-or-die scenario set up in the latter half of the film but the film maintains tension and mood from beginning to end. It all just gets a bit…bloodier.
Jon Spaihts' and Damon Lindelof's script doesn't do the performers any favors shuffling them to and fro between the ship and the alien construction without much room for development. Reveals are shoehorned in without much setup (one involving Theron's Vickers that's shockingly mishandled) but for the most part the ensemble is ready to chomp into the script's bigger picture conceits. Rapace is a physical performer capable of pulling off a grisly scene involving an alien some sharp objects and a painful procedure (sure to be the scene of the blockbuster season. Among the rest of the crew Fassbender's David stands out as the film's revelatory performance delivering a digestible ambiguity to his mechanical man that playfully toys with expectations from his first entrance. The creature effects in Prometheus will wow you but even Fassbender's smallest gesture can send the mind spinning. The power of his smile packs more of a punch than any facehugger.
Much like Lindelof's Lost Prometheus aims to explore the idea of asking questions and seeking answers and on Scott's scale it's a tremendous unexpected ride. A few ideas introduced to spur action fall to the way side in the logic department but with a clear mission and end point Prometheus works as a sweeping sci-fi that doesn't require choppy editing or endless explosions to keep us on the edge of our seats. Prometheus isn't too far off from the Alien xenomorphs: born from existing DNA of another creature the movie breaks out as its own beast. And it's wilder than ever.
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A kids’ movie without the cheeky jokes for adults is like a big juicy BLT without the B… or the T. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted may have a title that sounds like it was made up in a cartoon sequel laboratory but when it comes to serving up laughs just think of the film as a BLT with enough extra bacon to satisfy even the wildest of animals — or even a parent with a gaggle of tots in tow. Yes even with that whole "Afro Circus" nonsense.
It’s not often that we find exhaustively franchised films like the Madagascar set that still work after almost seven years. Despite being spun off into TV shows and Christmas specials in addition to its big screen adventures the series has not only maintained its momentum it has maintained the part we were pleasantly surprised by the first time around: great jokes.
In this third installment of the series – the trilogy-maker if you will – directing duo Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath add Conrad Vernon (director Monsters Vs. Aliens) to the helm as our trusty gang swings back into action. Alex the lion (Ben Stiller) Marty the zebra (Chris Rock) Gloria the hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Melman the giraffe (David Schwimmer) are stuck in Africa after the hullaballoo of Madagascar 2 and they’ll do anything to get back to their beloved New York. Just a hop skip and a jump away in Monte Carlo the penguins are doing their usual greedy schtick but the zoo animals catch up with them just in time to catch the eye of the sinister animal control stickler Captain Dubois (Frances McDormand). And just like that the practically super human captain is chasing them through Monte Carlo and the rest of Europe in hopes of planting Alex’s perfectly coifed lion head on her wall of prized animals.
Luckily for pint-sized viewers Dubois’ terrifying presence is balanced out by her sheer inhuman strength uncanny guiles and Stretch Armstrong flexibility (ah the wonder of cartoons) as well as Alex’s escape plan: the New Yorkers run away with the European circus. While Dubois’ terrifying Doberman-like presence looms over the entire film a sense of levity (which is a word the kiddies might learn from Stiller’s eloquent lion) comes from the plan for salvation in which the circus animals and the zoo animals band together to revamp the circus and catch the eye of a big-time American agent. Sure the pacing throughout the first act is practically nonexistent running like a stampede through the jungle but by the time we're palling around under the big top the film finds its footing.
The visual splendor of the film (and man is there a champion size serving of it) the magnificent danger and suspense is enhanced to great effect by the addition of 3D technology – and not once is there a gratuitous beverage or desperate Crocodile Dundee knife waved in our faces to prove its worth. The caveat is that the soundtrack employs a certain infectious Katy Perry ditty at the height of the 3D spectacular so parents get ready to hear that on repeat until the leaves turn yellow.
But visual delights and adventurous zoo animals aside Madagascar 3’s real strength is in its script. With the addition of Noah Baumbach (Greenberg The Squid and the Whale) to the screenwriting team the script is infused with a heightened level of almost sarcastic gravitas – a welcome addition to the characteristically adult-friendly reference-heavy humor of the other Madagascar films. To bring the script to life Paramount enlisted three more than able actors: Vitaly the Siberian tiger (Bryan Cranston) Gia the Leopard (Jessica Chastain) and Stefano the Italian Sealion (Martin Short). With all three actors draped in European accents it might take viewers a minute to realize that the cantankerous tiger is one and the same as the man who plays an Albuquerque drug lord on Breaking Bad but that makes it that much sweeter to hear him utter slant-curse words like “Bolshevik” with his usual gusto.
Between the laughs the terror of McDormand’s Captain Dubois and the breathtaking virtual European tour the Zoosters’ accidental vacation is one worth taking. Madagascar 3 is by no means an insta-classic but it’s a perfectly suited for your Summer-at-the-movies oasis.

They say that Tom Cruise didn’t really hit his stride until he won the 1997 MTV Movie Award for Jerry Maguire. They say that Kate Winslet’s career petered out after she lost Best Actress for her work in Titanic to Neve Cambell in Scream 2. They say that Seann William Scott rivals Billy Crystal for best award show presenter in show business.
Actually, they don’t say any of these things. And if they do, you should probably stop hanging around "them" so much.
Realistically, the MTV Movie Awards doesn’t have the clout that institutions like the Oscars do, partially because of its proclivity to grant Best Picture to the films of The Twilight Saga. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t know good cinema when they see it. Over the past two decades, MTV has granted Best Picture, Actor and Actress titles to some genuinely deserving films and performers — some that might actually surprise you quite a bit.
1994: Tom Hanks wins Best Male Performance for Philadelphia
It wasn't a shocker when Hanks won the Oscar for his work in Philadelphia, but with crowd pleasing opponents like Mrs. Doubtfire's Robin Williams, The Fugitive's Harrison Ford, and The Firm's Tom Cruise, his MTV victory might have been a bit more surprising. The fun-loving nature of the network was in contrast to Hanks' heart-wrenching performance as AIDS-stricken attorney Andrew Beckett, but even if Philadelphia didn't seem to fit the MTV spectrum, Hanks' heaviest performance to date was too stellar to overlook.
1995: Pulp Fiction wins Best Picture
More in step with the MTV vibe, Pulp Fiction beat out formidable opponent Forrest Gump and three other things that were nominated over Shawshank Redemption: Speed, The Crow, and Interview with the Vampire. Yes, Pulp Fiction is flashy and stylistic, up-tempo and perfectly in keeping with the provocative, shock-value attention span of the 1990s' MTV audience. But it's also quite a spectacular piece of work.
1996: Se7en wins Best Picture
Almost all of the Best Picture nominees at the 1996 MTV Movie Awards were impressive candidates: Apollo 13, Braveheart, Clueless. But Se7en is inarguably the power player of the lot, with an intriguing storyline, great performances by stars Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, and Kevin Spacey, and an unforgettable ending. Although it's darker, grimmer and less of a make-'em-cheer thrill-ride than any of the other nods, Se7en grabbed Best Pic at the '96 MTV Movie Awards.
1998: Titanic and Leonardo DiCaprio win Best Picture and Male Performance
Well, of course they did. Titanic is the most popular movie in the history of time, and Leonardo DiCaprio is constantly breaking new ground in Hollywood handsomeness. This flick was a shoe-in for the Best Picture win, even over comic adventure hits like Men in Black and the first Austin Powers, the thriller staple Face/Off (with Male Performance nods for stars Nicolas Cage and John Travolta), and good ol' Good Will Hunting (star Matt Damon was nominated for Best Male Performance). Batman &amp; Robin was also nominated.
2001: Julia Roberts wins Best Female Performance for Erin Brockovich
One of movie star Julia Roberts' most celebrated roles to date is her 2000 biopic Erin Brockovich, which earned her Best Female Performance at the 2001 MTV Movie Awards over candidates like Kate Hudson (Almost Famous), Jennifer Lopez (The Cell), Aaliyah (Romeo Must Die) and Julia Stiles (Save the Last Dance). The film is a modern classic that more than deserves recognition for its central player's performance.
2006: Jake Gyllenhaal wins Best Performance for Brokeback Mountain
Although Ang Lee's romantic film as a whole was a little slow and meandering, its performances exhibited new triumphs, both by MTV Movie Award victor Jake Gyllenhaal and his costar, the late Heath Ledger. Gyllenhaal's turn as cowboy Jack Twist won over Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line, and over Steve Carell's memorable role in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, the latter being on par with the Best Picture winner of the year: Wedding Crashers.
2008: Ellen Page wins Best Female Performance for Juno
She might not be a name you think of in the company of Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, and Leonardo DiCaprio, but Ellen Page's career-making turn in the Jason Reitman/Diablo Cody picture Juno deserves the recognition it received at the 2008 MTV Movie Awards. Like Pulp Fiction, Juno exemplifies the MTV mentality. It's quippy, frenetic, pop culture-obsessed, whimsical even when dark. Page duly beat out Katherine Heigl (Knocked Up), Amy Adams (Enchanted), Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest), and Jessica Biel (I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry).
The 2012 MTV Movie Awards boasts its own impressive array of nominees, highlighting terrific feature films like Bridesmaids, 50/50, and Drive. Who is your winning pick for this year?
More:
Russell Brand to Host MTV Movie Awards
The Hunger Games, Bridesmaids Top MTV Movie Award Nominations
MTV Brings Back Unplugged: Long Live the 90s!

We've suffered through the star-studded indignity of Valentine's Day and the multi-storyline ignominy of New Year's Eve and the alien attack of Independence Day (but that's a whole different ball of gooey alien gut wax.) Now we have the latest scourge in this Hollywood holiday spree: Memorial Day: The Movie. Like all wonderful movies (that I am making up for fun on a Friday afternoon) it stars Katherine Heigl and a slew of other well wishing celebrities who are looking to cash a big fat paycheck.
Heigl stars as Chelsea, a New York City magazine journalist who is only concerned about her career. At the last minute, before getting on the Jitney to head out to the Hamptons, her editor (Christine Baranski) tells her that she needs a story about a Fleet Week romance and that she is going to have to bring it home or else she is fired. Katherine cancels her plans and her four friends roll their eyes and head off without her. She heads down to Midtown where absolutely every sailor totally ignores her. Finally she runs into a dashing sergeant (Patrick Dempsey) who steals the last seat at a crowded bar, making a flustered Chelsea absolutely furious. She cusses him out and he says that he's going to help her find a romance to pay her back. She thanks him and they head out into the town. After going to several bars they can only find guys hooking up. They go to a Broadway show and approach a sailor (Jack Black) and his woman (Jennifer Coolidge) and find out she's sick of him being trapped on a submarine all the time and is going to ask for a divorce. Finally they get a tip from a loud cabbie (Gilbert Godfried) who tells them to go to Chez Josefine to look for a romance. The restaurant is empty, but the owner (Gerard Depardieu) has a table just for them. They clink champagne glasses and stare deeply into each other's eyes. Finally they head off to the USS Intrepid and scale the boat just as the fire works (that don't really happen in New York on Memorial Day, but whatever) are going off and they kiss. It turns out, the story of Fleet Week romance Katherine Heigl was looking for was hers!
Let's not forget about her four friends (Amy Adams, Keira Knightley, Isla Fisher, and Lea Michelle)! They're all excited about their first weekend in the Hamptons and the rich men they're going to meet at a fancy barbecue the next day. However on the Long Island Expressway, their bus breaks down and sets on fire, destroying all their luggage. But, good fortune! A minivan full of attractive men (Neil Patrick Harris, Matt Bomer, Jim Parsons, and Anderson Cooper) has four extra seats for four pretty ladies. They get their flirt on something hard before realizing that all the men in the car are gay. There is some making out between the men and the girls get to their house. They realize that it is locked and head out back to try to break into the house they're renting. They make a mess in the mud trying to get in, and then are caught by the cops (Joe Mangianello and Nicolas Coster-Waldau). They drag them into jail where they share a cell with four guys (Chase Crawford, Ed Westwick, Penn Badgley, and some other guy from Gossip Girl.) They share a chuckle and when they're all bailed out in the morning the boys drag them to their BBQ. Turns out they were the rich guys throwing the party in the first place, and they are all now hedge fund wives (still covered in mud).
Jerry (Zac Efron) is having a BBQ in Central Park and it is so hot he is forced to take off his shirt multiple times. There's something about a girl (Taylor Swift) who lost her dog and he leaves his friends at the party to go help her. The whole time he keeps ignoring phone calls from his sister. They fall in love. They find the dog. Zac puts his shirt on and finally answers his sister's call and it's Katherine Heigl! She's in love too!
In the park near Jerry's BBQ, a hot dog vendor (Ben Stiller) is going to be evicted from his house unless he raises $10,000 by Monday. How is he going to sell that many hot dogs? His son (the funny kid from Modern Family... no, the skinny one) gets his friends (Jaden Smith and the other funny kid from Modern Family) and tells them they have to raise all this money. They decide to hold a hot dog eating contest and charge people $5 to watch. They are so adorable that the local news covers it (Chelsea, you are totally missing this story) and they raise all the money and everyone is happy.
Julia Roberts is spending another weekend at her shore house. She Julia Roberts with Julia Roberts and calls her friends Julia and Roberts. They smile. They laugh. They love life. It's Julia Roberts. Who cares what she does. Tom Hanks shows up at the end and they kiss. The end.
Jessica Biel is a world champion croquet player who broke her arm the day before the huge croquet world series in Queens. Instead she's bumming around a hotel in Midtown and feeling sorry for herself. Ashton Kutcher plays the bellhop who is just about to get off duty who says he'll show her the best day of her life. He takes her to the Central Park Zoo, he takes her to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, he takes her to Shake Shack (mmmm, Shake Shack) and then he tries to kiss her and she's like, "Sorry, I have a boyfriend." He is all bummed. Then, the next day her boyfriend (Casey Affleck, who could use some work) is all like, "I only liked you because you were as good at croquet as I was. Now I'm dumping you, you sticky wicket." She's sad, but Ashton cheers her up again. This time, with tongue.
Follow Brian Moylan on Twitter @BrianJMoylan
More:
Valentine's Day Sequel Planned
Second Star-Studded 'New Year's Eve' Trailer Debuts
Back-to-Back Independence Day Sequels to Invade Earth

There's probably still someone somewhere that would fall for one of Sacha Baron Cohen's weird and wooly scenarios but let's face the facts: the days when Ali G. could snag an interview with Pat Buchanan or Gore Vidal are long gone. 2009's Bruno definitely let some steam out of Borat's tires not to mention the ensuing lawsuits. But it's refreshing to see Cohen and his Borat/Bruno cohort director Larry Charles flex their muscles in the fictional universe of The Dictator a vehicle that doesn't skimp on their signature cringe-worthy humor.
The world of The Dictator gives them the leeway to create crazy spectacles — at one point Cohen's General Aladeen rides down Fifth Avenue on a camel surrounded by a giant motorcade. Having a plot helps too; although part of the genius of Sacha Baron Cohen's schtick is how the viewer is made culpable by proxy by our amusement and horror at how he tricks and torments people who aren't in on the joke The Dictator continues the self-reflexive satirical bite. We're certainly not off the hook. Aladeen says and does truly outrageous things but they're also exaggerations of the world we live in. It might be a stretch to call Sacha Baron Cohen the British Lenny Bruce or George Carlin in a face merkin but rest assured that no topic is off limits. If you are offended by jokes about abortion rape feminists body hair race religion politics STDs war crimes ethnic cleansing necrophilia and/or bestiality don't even bother. However if you like the kind of comedy that makes you hide your face in your hands feeling like each laugh is being pried from you against your will you're in business.
Cohen eats up the screen as both General Aladeen and his incredibly dumb body double; the latter prefers the intimate company of one of his goats to a human while the former is a fairly stupid ruthless dictator whose own people are so disloyal to him that they actually ignore his commands to execute people. (He really likes to execute people.) When he arrives in New York City to attend a summit at the UN his uncle Tamir (Ben Kingsley) has the two switched so he can easily manipulate the "General" into signing a treaty to make Wadiya a democracy and reap the financial benefits. Aladeen finds refuge with Zoe a hairy-pitted activist who thinks he's a political dissident and is excited to be able to give him a safe haven in her touchy-feely Brooklyn grocery co-op. Instead of being typecast as another blonde dummy Anna Faris is finally given room to play as the wide-eyed naïf who takes Aladeen's very serious statements as jokes or simple miscommunications. She's a great foil to Baron Cohen who is easily half a foot taller than she is and has a wolfish grin. Their banter is often the most politically incorrect of the bunch but also the funniest.
Alas the plot. It's a bare bones situation to get a very broad character from A to B. Aladeen is obviously an outlandish mishmash of modern dictators; he spouts racist misogynist rhetoric endlessly and after a while...yeah we get it. However like all of Sacha Baron Cohen's humor The Dictator also takes a direct shot at Western countries (specifically the United States) which would be all fine and dandy if he didn't wedge an expository speech in about it as well. The problem with making a traditional narrative movie is that with some exceptions you've got to play within the guidelines. The Dictator isn't trying to do anything fancy; all it needs a few big beats and a neat ending to wrap it all up. It doesn't quite manage to tie it all together in a way that makes The Dictator more than an hour and a half or so of laughing and cringing.
Besides Faris and Kingsley there are a number of cameos by a very wide variety of comics and actors. Megan Fox plays herself Kevin Corrigan appears as a creepy dude who works at the co-op John C. Reilly is a racist security guard and Fred Armisen runs an anti-Aladeen café in New York's Little Wadiya district. The very funny Jason Mantzoukas has a large role as Nadal the former head of rocket science who was supposedly executed for not making Aladeen's nuclear warhead pointy. It's a good ensemble and hopefully Sacha Baron Cohen's next feature-length film will build on The Dictator's weaknesses.

UPDATE: Hunger Games won the weekend box office battle with $33.5 million, crossing the $300 million mark in just 17 days. It beat American Reunion, which took in a solid $21.47 million and Titanic 3D, which took in $17.35 million.
ORIGINAL STORY: Back at the turn of the millennium, the American Pie franchise was money in the bank. Even American Wedding, which was outgrossed by its predecessors, still managed to cross the $100 million mark by the end of its theatrical run. This weekend, the fourth installment hits theaters, American Reunion, and it's a change of pace for the franchise. In the past, the Pie franchise successfully bowed in the summer months (American Pie 2 and American Wedding both dropping in August), but Reunion escapes the crowded blockbuster breeding ground for the safehaven of April — or so it it would like to think.
These days, every month is a blockbuster month, proven by the gargantuan take of teen sci-fi sensation The Hunger Games. The Lionsgate headlined by rising star Jennifer Lawrence has been gobbling up box office dollars like a District 12 citizen locked in a room full of cakes. The film rounded out its second weekend with a mind-blowing $251 million and, according to Hollywood.com Box Office Analyst Paul Dergarabedian, should pull in another high $20 million/low $30 million chunk of change to bring its 17-day total close to the $300 million mark.
Then there's American Reunion, which has its work cut out for it against the young adult fiction adaptation. But nostalgia burns brightly for the series, even a decade later, and the forquel is expected to add a little over $20 million to the franchise's existing $650 million worldwide total.
Speaking of nostalgia, director James Cameron's 3D conversion of his classic '90s Oscar-winner Titanic hit theaters on Wednesday, gathering up $4.3 million in its first day of release. This former highest grossing movie of all time (before being displaced by Cameron's own Avatar) should continue to be unsinkable, taking in $20 million over the weekend for a five-day total of around $30 million.
Rounding out the top five are last week's debuts, Wrath of the Titans and Mirror Mirror. The Clash sequel should top the fantasy film, hitting the $60 million mark by Sunday, while the Julia Roberts/Lily Collins Snow White tale should add another $10 million, thanks to the family movie-going magic of Easter weekend, for a total of $30 million.
So what are you seeing this weekend?
Find Matt Patches directly on Twitter @misterpatches and remember to follow @Hollywood_com!
More:
American Pie Franchise: Each Movie's Slice of Box Office Pie
Can Wrath or Mirror Mirror Take Down 'Hunger Games'?
Our Titanic Memories: Can You Remember Your First Time?

The movie, which stars Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson, broke box office records last week by becoming the biggest non-sequel film to ever open at number one - and now The Hunger Games has held onto its coveted first place title.
Coming in a distance second was Sam Worthington's Wrath of the Titans, which had earnings of $34.2 million (£21.3 million), and debuting in third was Julia Roberts' family fairytale film Mirror Mirror, with takings of $19 million (£11.9 million).
Cop comedy 21 Jump Street ($15 million/£9.4 million) is at four and animated movie Dr. Seuss' The Lorax ($8 million/£5 million) rounds out the top five.

Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games” shattered expectations last weekend and delivered the third best opening weekend of all time (and the best ever opening for a non-sequel) with a mind blowing $152.5 million! With terrific word-of-mouth and critical praise the mega blockbuster had no problem topping the charts in its second weekend with a gross $61.1 million and a massive 10 day North American total of $251 million! Total international weekend box office is projected at $34.8M which will bring the international cumulative to an estimated $113.9M through Sunday.
“Wrath of the Titans” from Legendary Pictures brought its PG-13 rated wrath upon the multiplex with a debut of $34.2 million. The Warner Bros.’ action fantasy sequel to its 2010 hit “Clash of the Titans” stars Liam Neeson, Sam Worthington got a boost from its release in 3-D and in the IMAX giant screen format that generates $4.7 million on 292 domestic screens - Global IMAX is $8.6M for the film.
Relativity Media had a PG-rated advantage this weekend with “Mirror Mirror” starring Lily Collins as Snow White, Julia Roberts as The Queen and Armie Hammer as the handsome prince Alcott. Offering a terrific alternative for families, the film is helmed by visionary director Tarsem Singh and had a debut of $19 million.
Sony’s action comedy “21 Jump Street” has continued to be the number one R-rated comedy choice for moviegoers as it speeds toward $100 million at the domestic box office. A third weekend gross of $15 million brings its 17 day North American total to over $90 million by Sunday night.
Rounding out the top five, Universal’s “Dr. Seuss' The Lorax” continues to cultivate the greenery with a fifth weekend gross of $8.0 million. The family and eco-friendly film is closing in on the $200 million mark and by the end of the weekend will have around $190 million in North American revenues.
Yet another “up” weekend (23.51% vs. comparable weekend a year ago) at the box office keeps us well ahead of last year’s pace with YTD revenues up an impressive 20.34%.
Weekend Box Office (Estimates)
Top Movies for Weekend of March 30, 2012
Movie Weekend Gross Total to Date
1 The Hunger Games (PG13) $61.1M $251.0M
2 Wrath of the Titans (PG13) $34.2M $34.2M
3 Mirror Mirror (PG) $19.0M $19.0M
4 21 Jump Street (R) $15.0M $93.1M
5 Dr. Seuss' The Lorax (PG) $8.0M $189.6M

In this week’s Snow White re-imagining, Mirror Mirror, Julia Roberts, perpetual smiler and one-time America’s Sweetheart, plays the evil queen. So, fans of the 1990s, consider her a good girl gone bad! (Sorta.) But Roberts isn't the only actress who has delved into nasty role-playing (Oh come on, get your mind out of the gutter!) — here are some other actresses with wholesome images who played not-so-nice. Read on!
Rachel McAdams, Mean Girls
McAdams has enjoyed an interesting career path: The actress first rose to fame for playing a queen-bee meanie in Mean Girls, but has since established herself as one of cinema's best good girls. (See: The Notebook, Wedding Crashers, etc.) She is, however, returning to familiar territory: Not only did she play a cheating girlfriend in Midnight in Paris, but one of her upcoming movies, Passion, marks a return to darker fare.
Jennifer Aniston, Horrible Bosses
She’s been dubbed America’s Sweetheart almost as frequently as the aforementioned Julia Roberts, and she's even played the lead role in The Good Girl! Thus it was pretty surprising to hear that Aniston would be playing one of Horrible Bosses’ horrible bosses and downright shocking to then see her as a very R-rated sex-obsessed dentist. It was also showed the actress had range we didn't quite expect. More bad-girl roles, Rachel Green! Please?
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada/Doubt
While Streep wasn’t exactly known as the good girl, per se, her storied career pre-2006 was filled with roles that were anything but “bad.” (The closest was probably 1992’s Death Becomes Her, in which her character spends some time being mildly immoral and objectionable.) And then came Devil Wears Prada. But Miranda Priestley was nothing compared to Doubt's Sister Aloysius, a role she played two years later in 2008. Not surprisingly, the actress scored Oscar nominations for both films.
Anne Hathaway, The Dark Knight Rises
Hathaway (for better or for worse) will forever be linked to the Princess Diaries movies, but she's expanded her resume with adult fare (Brokeback Mountain), adult rom-coms (Bride Wars), and indie award bait (Rachel Getting Married). And she's about to expand her resume even further, starring as Catwoman — arguably the most coveted bad-girl role in Hollywood for some time — in this summer’s The Dark Knight Rises. Can she pull it off? Something tells us she'll be purr-fect. (Sorry.)
Cameron Diaz, Bad Teacher
With the exception of a few slight detours — when she played a shrewd shrew in 1999's Any Given Sunday and a stalker in 2001's Vanilla Sky — Diaz has always been known by her fans as Mary, Princess Fiona, Angel, and supermodel-hot… all nice things. And then, last year, she went Bad Teacher on us! But wouldn’t you know it — we like her bad, too. Too bad the critics didn't.
Sandra Bullock, Crash
Playing the racist wife of Brendan Fraser’s district attorney in the Best Picture-winning Crash, Bullock is neither the center of the movie nor a true-blue bad girl, at least not in the more fun, innocuous sense of the other examples on this list. But the dark role is worth noting, as it’s a such profound departure from literally every other career role for a woman often referred to as the rom-com queen and/or the second coming (if not better version) of Julia Roberts. Talk about a Blind Side.

Theatrics slapstick and cheer are cinematic qualities you rarely find outside the realm of animation. Disney perfected it with their pantheon of cartoon classics mixing music humor spectacle and light-hearted drama that swept up children while still capturing the imaginations and hearts of their parents. But these days even reinterpretations of fairy tales get the gritty make-over leaving little room for silliness and unfiltered glee. Emerging through that dark cloud is Mirror Mirror a film that achieves every bit of imagination crafted by its two-dimensional predecessors and then some. Under the eye of master visualist Tarsem Singh (The Fall Immortals) Mirror Mirror's heightened realism imbues it with the power to pull off anything — and the movie never skimps on the anything.
Like its animated counterparts Mirror Mirror stays faithful to its source material but twists it just enough to feel unique. When Snow White (Lily Collins) was a little girl her father the King ventured into a nearby dark forest to do battle with an evil creature and was never seen or heard from again. The kingdom was inherited by The Queen (Julia Roberts) Snow's evil stepmother and the fair-skinned beauty lived locked up in the castle until her 18th birthday. Grown up and tired of her wicked parental substitute White sneaks out of the castle to the village for the first time. There she witnesses the economic horrors The Queen has imposed upon the people of her land all to fuel her expensive beautification. Along the way Snow also meets Prince Alcott (Armie Hammer) who is suffering from his own money troubles — mainly being robbed by a band of stilt-wearing dwarves. When the Queen catches wind of the secret excursion she casts Snow out of the castle to be murdered by her assistant Brighton (Nathan Lane).
Fairy tales take flack for rejecting the idea of women being capable but even with its flighty presentation and dedication to the old school Disney method Mirror Mirror empowers its Snow White in a genuine way thanks to Collins' snappy charming performance. After being set free by Brighton Snow crosses paths with the thieving dwarves and quickly takes a role on their pilfering team (which she helps turn in to a Robin Hooding business). Tarsem wisely mines a spectrum of personalities out of the seven dwarves instead of simply playing them for one note comedy. Sure there's plenty of slapstick and pun humor (purposefully and wonderfully corny) but each member of the septet stands out as a warm compassionate companion to Snow even in the fantasy world.
Mirror Mirror is richly designed and executed in true Tarsem-fashion with breathtaking costumes (everything from ball gowns to the dwarf expando-stilts to ridiculous pirate ship hats with working canons) whimsical sets and a pitch-perfect score by Disney-mainstay Alan Menken. The world is a storybook and even its monsters look like illustrations rather than photo-real creations. But what makes it all click is the actors. Collins holds her own against the legendary Julia Roberts who relishes in the fun she's having playing someone despicable. She delivers every word with playful bite and her rapport with Lane is off-the-wall fun. Armie Hammer riffs on his own Prince Charming physique as Alcott. The only real misgiving of the film is the undercooked relationship between him and Snow. We know they'll get together but the journey's half the fun and Mirror Mirror serves that portion undercooked.
Children will swoon for Mirror Mirror but there's plenty here for adults — dialogue peppered with sharp wisecracks and a visual style ripped from an elegant tapestry. The movie wears its heart on its sleeve and rarely do we get a picture where both the heart and the sleeve feel truly magical.
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